New Aklan hospital building to rise soon

BY BOY RYAN B. ZABAL

 

A new three-storey building inside the Aklan provincial hospital compound will soon rise.

Aklan Governor Florencio Miraflores said the hospital building will expand and serve the medical needs of patients in the province and adjacent provinces of Romblon and Antique.

The multi-storey building will be constructed adjacent of the existing three-storey building of Dr. Rafael S. Tumbokon Memorial Hospital (DRSTMH) in Kalibo, Aklan. The area is currently used for doctors and nurses quarters.

The expansion, construction and renovation of wards, hospital facilities and rooms will be funded by the Department of Health (DoH) savings in 2014 for P145-million.

Building plans and design for the hospital expansion were submitted by the Aklan provincial government to central DoH office for funding. 

At present, the provincial hospital has exceeded its bed capacity. Last year, the 162-bed capacity of DRSTMH admitted 37,333 patients compared to 22,476 in 2013.

Miraflores said the three-storey expansion will decongest the number of hospital patients who are lining up in the hospital hallway due to lack of hospital beds.

Aside from additional rooms for the patients, the new building is seen to improve the operations and services of the facility, which will be integrated into also the Economic Enterprise Development Department (EEDD) of the provincial government.

Meanwhile, a bill authored by Aklan Representative Teodorico Haresco, Jr. to increase the authorized bed capacity of DRSTMH from 162 to 400 beds is pending at the committee on Health in the 16^th Congress.